The invention relates to a method of treating whiplash and lower back pain using acupressure and magnetic therapy.
Whiplash and back injuries are the most common injuries that people suffer from automobile and other accidents. These injuries are extremely painful and devastating, often limiting physical movements in daily life, yet there are not many effective ways to treat those who suffer from such injuries with conventional medicine.
As a result of the failure of conventional medicine to effectively treat certain medical conditions, there is a growing tendency to explore the paths of alternative medicine.
One of these alternative practices is the use of acupuncture, which is an ancient Chinese art of inserting fine needles under the surface of the skin into specific locations on the body to treat various ailments. The number of needles and their locations depends on the condition and its severity. Acupuncturists treat conditions by placing needles into various points associated with that condition.
In a similar manner to acupuncture, acupressure is a healing method involving the placing of pressure to various points on the body associated with a condition. However, in acupressure, the skin is not broken.
Another alternative practice is the use of magnetic therapy. Although it is not entirely clear how magnetic therapy works, it has been found to increase blood flow and therefore oxygen carrying capacity, to change the migration of calcium ions to or from the bone, to alter the pH balance of various body fluids, to alter hormone production from endocrine glands and to alter the enzymatic activity and other biochemical processes of the human body.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,432,036, to Kim, entitled DEVICE FOR MAGNETIC FOCUS RADIATION MEDICAL TREATMENT, describes a pair of acupressure devices, each having a support member that holds a magnet in contact with a tip, a hollow casing with an external thread that receives the support member and an adjustable cap having an internal thread to engage the external thread of the hollow casing and a tip hole for allowing the tip to pass through the cap. The pointers are sold under the trademark Acutouch™. A method of using the device, comprising turning the cap to expose the desired portion of acupressure tip and holding the two acupressure devices against two respective points on the skin of the person to be treated, is disclosed. However, specific methods of using the device for the treatment of specific ailments are not disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,504, to Xie, entitled METHOD OF ACUPUNCTURE AND MAGNETIC TREATMENT FOR WEIGHT LOSS, describes a method that includes the steps of placing acupuncture tips into specified portions of the human body, removing the tips, and placing magnets onto the same locations that the tips previously occupied. However, specific locations for, and the treatment of, ailments other then for obesity and diabetes are not disclosed.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved method of treating soft tissue injuries involving the spine, including whiplash, lower back pain, or generally pain in a subject's back.